Tag: friends

It’s Not a Vacation! We’re Working When We Travel

So we took this whole month of May to travel from our home in Wisconsin down to Phoenix, out to San Diego, up to Northern California, and end up back up June 1. The main purpose is so we can pick up more of our stuff from storage in Roseville, California. However, since we know so many people, friends and family, in Phoenix, San Diego, and Roseville, we are taking time to visit with them as we travel.

But it’s not a vacation! No, we are working while we travel. We are still doing all our usual stuff. I work as a Virtual Assistant managing client’s social media marketing, newsletters, and blogs and am continuing to do so. We have a web design business we are continuing to run and in fact have received new work as we’ve been traveling.

And Joel’s book coaching and publishing business, Someday Box, has continued. We have one client in the final stages of editing her book, another in the U.K. that we’re working on formatting the interior of his book (in fact we had an international call with him yesterday), and yet another that signed up for the Pathfinding Session and Road Map. We had an hour call with her last Monday while here in Arizona and have scheduled another one this next Tuesday while we’re in San Diego.

So for us it’s business as usual – we did spend 18 months living as nomads with no fixed place of residence traveling and working. It’s no different now except we do have a fixed place of residence and travel less than we did.

When we do take a vacation, we’ll let you know. We do take the last two weeks of the year off from work. This year we may just end up in Arizona for most of that time. Perhaps visiting our friends and family here and taking time to see Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, and Jerome. We did spend out honeymoon in Oak Creek Canyon and this December will be our 10th wedding anniversary!

And this trip we are getting to connect with lots of friends and family – in Phoenix it’s been Terry & Virgie, Dan & Annete, Rod on Saturday, and Sunday Sue’s Uncle Phil. In San Diego we’ll see Sue’s mom, Joel’s brother Brett and his family and Joel’s sister Lynn and her family. Also our good friend Ken. Then it’s up to Northern California to see Tom Bentley, Dave Reffkin, Pam & Phil, the Stephens family, and of course Fiona’s big sister Rachelle!

The final four days of our trip heading home Fiona and Sue will get to drive through Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota – all states they’ve never been in before. Oh, and we’re driving through Yosemite. So that will feel like a vacation – though Sue does have a big transcription project she needs to get finished that week as well. That’s when having a colleague comes in handy. Sue is very grateful to Amy in New Jersey for all the assistance she’s providing in that area.

So, don’t ask how our vacation was! We weren’t on vacation! We were traveling and working and having the time of our lives! Don’t you wish you could do this?

It’s About Time for Something New Here!

Since moving to Rice Lake, Wisconsin in April 2012, we haven’t done a whole lot of traveling that we’ve written about. I’m going to try to make sure and write about our travels this month though in May 2013.

This month’s trip will take us out of the snow we just had on May 2 to a nice hot 100 in Arizona.

Goodbye snow!

Snow Rice Lake May 2, 2013
Snow Rice Lake May 2, 2013

We’re taking the month to eventually get the rest of our stuff out of storage in California. That will be near the end of the month. Here’s our basic itinerary:

  • May 6 – Leave Rice Lake, WI and drive to Kansas City, MO; stay overnight at a hotel we’ve already booked.
  • May 7 – Drive from Kansas City to probably Delhart, TX where we’ll stay at a hotel we stayed in last time we were through that part of Texas.
  • May 8 – From Delhart drive to Phoenix, Arizona and be warmly welcomed by our very good friend Terry Wilson and his lovely wife Virgie. Go swimming in their pool in 100 degree weather! :)
  • May 9 – Visit with Terry & Virgie and that night Joel will get to play music with Terry and his band.
  • May 10-12 – Stay with our friend Dan and his family in another section of Phoenix.
  • May 13-18 – Back to Terry & Virgie’s to visit more, play music, swim, swim, swim.
  • May 19 – Visit with Sue’s Uncle Phil & family in Glendale, Arizona. Sue hasn’t seen her Uncle in about 30 years.
  • May 20 – Drive from Phoenix to San Diego, California. Stay at a hotel in Chula Vista that has a pool.
  • May 21 – Visit with Joel’s brother and family
  • May 22 – Visit with Sue’s mom; possibly go to Balboa Park.
  • May 23 – Visit with Joel’s sister and family (read about their recent road trip); stay overnight with friends Ken & Kelly in San Diego
  • May 24 – Drive up to Northern California and visit with Tom Bentley.
  • May 25 – Drive to San Francisco and visit with David Reffkin.
  • May 26-28 Stay with good friends Pam & Phil in Roseville, California. Pick up stuff still in storage. Fiona spends two days with her sister Rachelle.
  • May 29 – Leave California for Idaho
  • May 30 – Drive through Montana
  • May 31 – Drive through Wyoming, North Dakota
  • June 1 – Arrive back in Rice Lake, Wisconsin

Of course it’s all subject to change. I plan to take pictures and keep a written journal and hopefully post often here. Fiona may post at her website as well.

We plan on having a blast!

Good Friends Make Us Feel at Home

We arrived here in Phoenix Arizona last Saturday to stay with our good friends, Terry & Virgie. We knew they’d make us feel right at home. And they sure have!

Over the past year we’ve been through Phoenix several times and each time we’ve stayed with Terry and Virgie. Our friendship is closer now than when we knew them in the Sacramento area for several years. They are a very loving and warm couple who have opened their hearts to us and Fiona. Joel and Terry could sit all day, talking business, playing music. Virgie and Fiona love to bake together and Virgie and I have had some good chats.

Since we’ve also house sat for them, we’re very comfortable here, know where everything is and how they like it. We’re especially enjoying using the pool every evening since we’re have 100 degree plus days! Fiona really likes swimming at night with the pool light on and looking up at the stars.

Today Virgie leaves on a trip. We’re still here another day or so. But she knows we’ll take good care of Terry and her home and that when she returns we will have left behind a tidy home and extra toilet paper in the guest bathroom.

Yesterday Terry said, “You guys always leave before I’m ready for you to leave!” He admits he’d say that no longer how long we stay. We really enjoy being here and are so glad to know we’re “home” when we come to the Wilson’s place. Thank you!

Quick Update on Where We Are Now

We had a wonderful visit in San Diego this past week. We got to catch up with family and Fiona met lots of her aunts, uncle, cousins and second cousins. The van is repaired and runs great!

We drove yesterday from San Diego to Phoenix to stay a few days with our friends here in Arizona. We all enjoyed the pool yesterday and plan to do so again later today to cool off from the 100 degree plus temperatures.

The plan is to drive from here to Albuquerque in a few days for a short stop, then through Colorado and Nebraska to land at our friend’s doorstep in South Dakota for a few days. There are three little girls there waiting to play with Fiona. Then to Wisconsin for a visit with Joel’s mom and finally ending up in Minnesota for our three week house sitting gig.

A Year of Driving; A Driving Year

One year ago today, perhaps one year ago this moment, I looked up from my tea and said, “It sure would be cheaper to live if we didn’t have a house to take care of.” And the other responsible mature adult in the family, rather than laughing at my insanity or rolling her eyes at my immaturity, looked down at her tea and said, “We can’t leave today, but we could go for a nice long drive and talk about it.”

sunny nomad familyOne year later we’ve realized that we’re barely getting started. There’s so much to see and do. We’ve certainly seen and done a lot already. But just counting the predominantly English-speaking portions of North America we have passed through only 21/63 of the states, provinces and territories (which you mathematicians know can be reduced to 1/3; hey, we’re homeschoolers, we’re always teaching.) And that doesn’t even acknowledge the original goal of sharing a meal in each state, province and territory. That probably requires a complete recount which may reduce the number significantly.

Canadian waterfallAnother Year—At Least

One year from now we hope to be 63 for 63.

That’s going to take planning and occasionally pushing just a little. So far we’ve let our travels take us wherever there was a place to go. During the coming year we might make choices instead of drifting on the wind.

It does not yet feel like work. We don’t feel unstable. As the bumper sticker in Taos New Mexico said, ‘all who wander are not lost.’ We wander, but not lost.

Settling In,
Not Settling Down

view
We’ve talked about moving our World HQ from Northern California to the frigid wasteland of Wisconsin in order to be close to my mom as much as possible. We’ve taken a few preliminary steps but it’s nothing like settling down.

That process though raised thoughts of settling down. We realized as we drove and talked that we no longer need to travel. Now we want to travel. We’re not sure we’ve seen any change in our finances. What we have seen is a great long list of changes in us.

Canfield familyLessons. Friends. Wealth.

After knowing each other nearly four decades we’ve managed to learn new things about each other during the past year, even during the past month. Sue has developed greater faith that things will work out, that we will sleep indoors, eat regularly and have the things we need for our simple life. I’ve developed greater faith that I can advance confidently in the direction of my dreams. Our little one has learned that not all heights are dangerous and that outside is better than inside.

A caravan of angry camelsWe’ve made dozens of connections and half a dozen lifelong friends. We’ve realized the power of asking and the nearly universal presence of generosity and kindness.

There are still challenges almost every day. Being a nomad doesn’t mean leaving challenges behind. It means doing battle with the challenges on our own terms. We have learned to measure our wealth not in dollars but in time spent doing what we choose.

We are rich beyond belief.

Jamming with New Friends

Our time in Rice Lake Wisconsin is coming to an end for now. Joel’s mom can’t wait for us to return this September. Fiona’s new homeschool program through the local school district starts and we’ll be back to pick up her curriculum and spend a few weeks here. We’ve made some great new friends here and are looking forward to coming back and spending more time with all of them.

We were able to extend our stay for an additional five days thanks to new friends, Cliff and Karen. They have two extra bedrooms that aren’t being used and insisted we come stay with them. Fiona has her own room and loves playing with their little dog.

Continue reading Jamming with New Friends

Home With Our Second Family

While we’ve been back ‘home’ in Roseville, we’ve been staying with our second family, the Stephens. We want to thank the Stephens family for their generous hospitality. Let me tell you a bit about them and why we call them our second family.

In 2006 just after Fiona turned 2 mommy ended up in the emergency room. Once the doctors used the special scope down my throat to release the HUGE gallstone that had lodged in the bile duct, I developed neucrotic pancreatitis. Basically my pancreas was killing itself. There’s nothing to be done except not to take in anything orally, not even water, and take lots and LOTS of pain medication.

I won’t go into the whole story here. Suffice it to say that I almost died, lived, had numerous complications including anemia, blood clots and two secondary infections and spent from mid-April to the end of July 2006 in the hospital.

Being only 2, Fiona needed someone to care for her. Our older daughter Rachelle was living with us but finishing high school. Though she became second mommy to Fiona, and they are very, VERY close still, Fiona needed more care than Rachelle was able to give daily. And daddy was spending his time either working or being with mommy at the hospital. Then in stepped the Stephens family.

Beth and Kyle are the parents. At the time their 3 children were 12, 14 and 16 (Molly, Kemmer and Ferrin). The oldest had her license and did lots of babysitting so she was often able to drive to pick up Fiona and babysit her. There were times when Fiona spent days, and most nights, with the Stephens. Once mommy was able to have visitors at the hospital, Beth and Ferrin would often bring Fiona to visit mommy.

Their middle child is their only son. Fiona spent so much time with these kids that we know she has Kemmer’s smile. When he graduated high school a couple of years ago, he gave us his graduation photo. Fiona has it in a frame that she carries everywhere with her. Wherever we are, you can ask, and you’ll get to see a picture of Kemmer.

While we’re here visiting now, Molly is a senior in high school and working part-time. She’s spent a lot of time with Fiona the past couple of weeks. Her dad, Kyle, often lets Fiona pick the cartoon they are all going to watch on TV.

And what can I say about Beth? Thank you Beth for all you’ve done for our family. Beth is the sweetest, kindest person ever. It brings tears to my eyes every time I think about how much she did in caring for my little girl when I was so sick. At the time Fiona even called her mommy once in a while. That never bothered me because Beth was a second to our precious little girl.

We aren’t the only ones who think of the Stephens as a second family. We’ve met many who feel the same way because this family has helped so many people. Whenever someone needs a place to stay, the Stephens family opens them with welcome arms. In fact while we’re here, there is another mutual friend who is staying with them as well.

In addition to all of that, when the Stephens found out that we were going to lead a nomadic lifestyle but needed a place to store a few things, they generously offered space to store stuff  at no charge. Anything we don’t have with us in the van as we travel is stored with them.

It sure feels good to be loved by such special people!

Family and Friends in San Diego Update

Mom’s knee surgery yesterday went very well. It was a long day. After waking up at 4 am to make sure she got to the hospital at 5 am for a 7:30 am surgery, it was 3 pm before she finally got to a room. The doctor says she should be able to come home Friday. I did get to visit for a few hours at the hospital with my youngest sister who I haven’t seen in years.

Today after stopping in to check on mom at the hospital, we’ll head down to visit with Joel’s sister and older brother. Fiona hasn’t seen her Aunt in years and I’m not sure she’s ever met her Uncle. There may be cousins too! She has had fun the last two days visiting with her cousin Daniel.

Thankfully we’ve been inside a Starbuck’s today to catch up with Internet access. We started outside another Starbuck’s – until it started raining!

Fiona is Enjoying the Rain

Yesterday it was a beautiful sunny day. Fiona and her new friends played outside quite a bit. When we lived in California Fiona didn’t play outside much. We didn’t have much of a yard and it wasn’t safe to let her play in the unfenced area in the front. So she’s been more of an inside girl. So this playing outside everyday that the weather is nice is very different for her.

Yesterday she found out it might rain today. She was very excited about that! Why? Because then she wouldn’t have to play outside; she could play inside. So today it’s raining and she’s loving it. She and the girls are playing right now at the kitchen table with Play-Dough.

She’s enjoying the rain but I’m sure she’ll enjoy playing outside again as well when the weather is sunny again.